Druth
Druth, formerly known as Findan, was an old Irish scholar who was imprisoned by the Northmen as a slave in their attempts to conquer new lands. Upon one of their raids in Orkney, he was able to escape through the ensuing confusion of the fires and ran into the wilds where he met Senua. Druth appears in Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice as a vivid recollection of Senua's memories of him. The Lorestones feature Druth narrating the many Norse legends that he was able to learn from his captors, each story bearing some relation to an aspect of Senua's journey. Appearance Druth appears as an old bearded man, partially scarred around his face by the fires he escaped. He wears thick cloaks of animal fur and feathers and has dark blue face paint around his eyes like Senua. On his head, he wears a leather cap adorned with the skull of a small animal and also has a three pronged sigil on his forehead underneath it. History Long before his imprisonment by the Northmen, Druth was known as Findan and lived with his father, brother and sister in Erin (modern day Ireland). One day, the Northmen captured Findan's sister and he was sent to pay for her release. Instead of honouring the proposal, the Northmen instead took Findan's gold and imprisoned him as well, keeping him for a full day and night without food or water. Strangely, he was released the next day and never told why. Upon his return home, the enemies of Findan's father burnt their house to the ground, killing both his father and brother in the process. As an offer of redress for his loss, those enemies invited Findan to a feast, but they betrayed him to the Northmen and he was captured as a slave. He would remain in the Northmen's grip for six years before they landed on the shores of Orkney, Senua's home. In the attack that burnt everything before them, Findan made his escape, running through the flames and becoming grievously injured as he escaped into the wilds. He cast off his old name and took on the title of Druth, a "liar" and "old fool", driven mad by the horrors he had been made to witness. Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice When Druth managed to reach the wilds, he encountered Senua, who had willingly isolated herself in an attempt to purge the darkness from her mind. Druth spoke of his own darkness and related his experience with the Northmen to like being in Hel itself and noted that Senua was one of the only few who had ever listened to him rather than laugh at his tales. He told her of the Northmen's ways and legends and vowed to guide her in this life and the next for hearing him. He died soon after. After Senua returned to her home, she found her village raided and Dillion sacrificed to the Norse gods. Thinking that Druth's own darkness was the same as her own, her mind believes that the Norse legends she was told were real and she sets off on a quest to save Dillion's soul from the underworld. During her journey, Senua interacts with her memories of meeting Druth, remembering his tales of how to overcome the trials of reaching Hela. If the player has managed to collect all 44 Lorestones, an extra scene will play just before Senua enters Hela's inner sanctum. Here, she recalls a memory of Druth admitting the part he played of the Northmen's conquest over his six years of enslavement as Findan. The Northmen initially took him because he was well travelled and spoke both his own and their languages. Though he had hoped to try and stop the raids from turning into bloodshed, he did no such thing under torture. Instead, he led his masters to their treasures and spoils willingly out of cowardice. Though regretful of his actions, he reveals to Senua that the attack on her home was not his doing. It instead was done willingly by a 'man in black' from Orkney, trading his safe passage for his treason. It is strongly implied that it was Zynbel, Senua's father. Gallery Druth 3.png|Druth appears to Senua. Druth 4.png|Druth asks to tell his tales of Hel. Druth 5.png|Druth appears during the trials of Surtr. Druth 2.png|Druth reveals an unpleasant truth. Druth 6.png|Nicholas Boulton, recording his sections as Druth. Trivia * Like Zynbel, Galena, and Dillion, Druth is portrayed both in audio and live video, integrated into the computer graphics of the rest of the game. * When Druth takes off his headpiece and reveals the truth about the attack on her village, the sigil on his head looks remarkably similar to Valravn's, the god of illusion. This could be interpreted as Senua's own mind trying to hide the fact that her father was responsible for a lot of the death that befell her home. Category:Characters